RUN Property

We use them for several of our properties (by default, as our PM became RUN). As with many agencies, you'll find it can come down a lot to the actual manager assigned to you. We've had a good run, even though our manager has changed a few times. They are however the most expensive of the lot (least negotiable) at 7% + GST.

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
Interesting. I am doing some diligence for a place I have coming up in Richmond (Melb) and they look like they're going to come out the cheapest.

They do 6.6% management fee whilst the rest in the area do 7.7%. Their leasing fee is 3.3% which is competitive. Still waiting to see what they charge for re-leasing and marketing.
 
just because it is the cheapest does not mean it is the best.

one thing to think about - if they are the cheapest, does that mean they are cutting corners? are they employing the most experienced or knowledgable PMs? Do they have the resources to do full tenant screening? Do they have a good and quality network of tradies? etc etc.

Sometimes people just look at price and think they are getting the best deal - but look at what is being offered and the quality of the offering to determine if that cheap price is going to cost you more in the long run.



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I've been a tenant, and as a landlord, I like to be dealing with an individual. The policies and processes put into place by the managing agency are important, but I like dealing with a highly competant individual.

My understanding is Run have good processes, but the actual management is via a pool so you're not always dealing with the same person. It's not my preference.
 
just because they are the dearest does not make them the best either, i think 7% is far too much, as most tennents are happy little vegie mites, and just pay when they must, 7% for this on our mortgages is too much, but i could be persuaded with more information , from others , :confused:
 
I have used RUN in the past and they are terrible! I would highly recommend not using them....terrible service and terrible system, very impersonal.
 
just because it is the cheapest does not mean it is the best.
Just as the most expensive one does not mean it's the best either.

Sometimes people just look at price and think they are getting the best deal -
I'm not sure why you are telling me this?



After 10 years of property investing I have discovered that there is no way to determine how good a PM is without using them. Even referrals are dubious. Everyone I've ever engaged has told me what I want to hear. Very hard to determine which ones follow through and which are full of ****. They all tell you the same fluff.

It this instance, I have looked at 4 PM fee structures that are:

$3475pa
$3006.60pa
$2505.60pa
The last one is RUN which I think will come in at $2500ish

You can't tell me that one company can provide an extra $1000 worth of value than the others without those others being dishnoest and/or incompetent. Or that because they charge a reasonable price then they must incompetent.

I'll be trying one of the cheaper ones and if they can't do the job I will dump them.

but look at what is being offered and the quality of the offering to determine if that cheap price is going to cost you more in the long run.
I hope you really don't think you can determine quality this way.
 
Let me give you 3 potential issues that can arise from using a poor property manager.
1. Bad tenants being placed in your property due to lazy/incompetent PM, resulting in serious property damages.
2. Bad tenants being placed in your property due to lazy/incompetent PM, resulting in rental defaults..rental tribunals etc
3. Investment property gets trashed due to lack of regular inspections.

Any of the above three could end up costing you thousands up to $50,000 (as a friend of mine recently encountered).

PM fees are tax deductible making a potentially more expensive PM agency nets fees less expensive then they seem.
On the average IP in Sydney, 1% extra in management fees results in about $5 a week, or the cost of a large coffee.

I would much rather pay an extra $5 a week and know that my IP is well looked after, and the risk of a catastrophic headache occurring are minimal.

(In regards to which RUN agency, i would prefer to not say. However, they are Sydney based. I now use Just Rent Sydney and they are fantastic.)
 
:confused::confused: Don't mean to be rude but this is a candidate for the dumbest post of the year. The difference in fees I have got so far vary by over $1000. Of course price has got a lot to do with it.

Oh, I don't know. I mean, I've said plenty of stupid things on this forum over the years, including plenty in the last nine or ten months, I'm sure. Hey, I remember one post maybe a month or so ago, where I asked why people still choose to go out and buy negatively geared property.

You see, I like to ask questions to find out what people are thinking in their decision making process. I find that I can learn more from that, than by reading about what they actually did. Hopefully, this might sometimes be helpful for some other people reading, too.

So, I guess that I should have been a little more specific with my question for you, earlier.

In a little more detail, what I was wondering was; given the big picture of things wherein you're trusting someone to look after an asset worth (presumably) a few hundred thousand dollars, why would a small difference in managing fees make anything more than a small difference in assessing the value of the service to be provided?

However, I think that you answered the question for me, inadvertently, in another of your replies on this thread. Paraphrasing, I think you were suggesting that since you don't trust any property managers anyway, you may as well run with a cheap one and hope for the best.

Thankyou, that is what I was looking for.

But now, if I may, I'd like to ask another question; if you don't trust what these people are telling you, would it be worth your time and effort to manage the property yourself instead of paying (what you consider to be) a large amount of money to someone whom you don't trust to do the right thing...?
 
But now, if I may, I'd like to ask another question; if you don't trust what these people are telling you, would it be worth your time and effort to manage the property yourself instead of paying (what you consider to be) a large amount of money to someone whom you don't trust to do the right thing...?
No. I don't have time or expertise.

I'm more than happy to pay for it, but I can't justify an extra $1000 pa. I usually -ve gear my place to anywhere between $2k-$4kpa. An extra $1k on PM fees ends up being a very large amount.

If someone said PM A is $1000 more expensive but PM B will cost you $10k by bringing in a bad tannant and not managing them properly, then I'd pick PM A.

But how do you know from just talking to them? They all tell you the same fluffy stuff. Some are totally incompetent, some are reaonably good. You really only find out when use them. Often people who are incompetent are skilled at giving the impression they are good or busy etc. I've seen these people in every company I've ever worked for. You don't know until you have to deal with them that they are full of it.

So my point is, why spend $500 extra when that person who is $500 cheaper may be the best PM?
 
Paraphrasing, I think you were suggesting that since you don't trust any property managers anyway, you may as well run with a cheap one and hope for the best.
Not quite. Let me clarify:

It's very hard to tell from talking to someone as to whether or not they are competent. PM is not exactly rocket science. It's not conceptual so you can't catch someone out for not knowing their stuff. It's a pure work rate and competence thing. All the lazy incompetent ones don't tell you they are lazy and incomptent. They tell you how good they are and that they're going to do everything that all the other PMs are going to do.

So, line up the prices, anyone who is way expensive cross them off, meet the competitive ones, go with a gut feeling, and if they are crap, give them the flick.

I make it clear to all PMs that I will not enter a contract with them and if they are confident of their ability then this shouldn't be a problem. And I give them a lisy of unacceptable behaviour and if they do any of that stuff they are out.
 
My understanding is Run have good processes, but the actual management is via a pool so you're not always dealing with the same person. It's not my preference.

We've found in our experience that we get assigned a specific person to deal with, and a direct mobile number and email (unless they move on etc - same as for any other agency)


Cheers,

The Y-man
 
Anyone used these guys before? Any feedback?

Hi awesome wells,

I have used them in the past. I moved on when they ignored a request from my tenant to repair his stove. This tenant had been in the property for years and was an excellent tenant. He ended up being without a stove for 3 weeks due to Run not contacting me. :eek:

But as Y Man says - it depends on your individual manager. I had at least 3 or 4 managers when I was with Run as they all kept moving!

Regards Jason.
 
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